Shape France Est Fermé

The magazine was largely translated material and never got a foothold in the French market. It only sold 28,000 copies and didn’t get much amour from advertisers, according to the Post.

“The international market, based on the economy, is very challenging, especially in France,” a spokesperson for parent company American Media International told the Post, confirming that the current issue of Shape France will be le fin.

The closure of Shape France coincides with the departure of Sue Yein Butcher, one of the longest serving executives at AMI. Ms. Butcher, who was previously in charge of Mira, the company’s Spanish-language celebrity tabloid, spoke Spanish–not French. Quelle horreur!

Shape’s concept may have been a hard sell in France as well. An article about French Jenny Craig in The New York Times last summer outlined the difficulties of trying to import L’Américain style of fitness and exercise across the pond.

“A track coach well known in France walks a woman through some low-key exercises, like arm swings and biceps curls with water bottles for weights. There is much talk of breathing. Although gyms have proliferated in the last 10 years in France, rigorous exercise is still not considered a requirement of responsible adulthood the way it is here,” wrote The New York Times.

In the same article, chic French smoked cigarettes while expressing horror at the American concept of the snack and the self-service. With cultural differences like that, is it any wonder that Shape France will be no longer?